This invention relates to an audio-visual teaching system and, more particularly, to such a system wherein visual information is displayed on an individual television monitor provided at each of a plurality of operator, or student, stations and wherein each television display is changed as a direct function of the progress of the operator.
In a typical audio-visual teaching system, a slide projector generally is used as the source of visual information, this slide projector being common to all students. Each student is provided with audio information reproduced from a record medium, such as magnetic tape, or the like, and each student's response is detected. The entire system is controlled by a central control means, or central processing unit, whereby each student's response to, for example, audible questions which relate to the visual information is evalulated. Once one question, or set of questions, relating to a particular topic shown in the visual information is completed, the next topic or matter under consideration is examined.
Unfortunately, in the typical prior art system of the aforenoted type, those students who are capable of rapidly progressing must await the ultimately correct answering of the other students. That is, the displayed visual information cannot be advanced, or changed, until all students favorably answer the questions pertaining to the instantaneous display. This, of course, tends to penalize those students having a faster learning ability. Alternatively, the visual information, and thus the rate of instruction, can be advanced when a certain number of students successfully answer the questions. Although this is to the advantage of those who are quick to learn, the remaining students having a slower learning ability will suffer.
Accordngly, it is thought that these basic defects in a centralized audio-visual teaching system can be overcome by providing separate visual displays for each of the students. However, this requires a duplication of, for example, slide projectors and individual photographic slides. This redundancy in apparatus is accompanied by higher costs.